"Life's journey is characterized by the bumps in the road, swells in the sea--even the turbulence of our times."
-President Thomas S. Monson

Monday, November 8, 2010

I Represent—Taking Upon His Name

Everything we do should be to glorify God and become more like him, right?Our education should serve to further the kingdom.I’ve always believed this, but it was discouraging to me for a while.As most of you know, I attend Brigham Young University, and I am a Communications major with a Public Relations emphasis.I love it, but what does that have to do with making me more like God?I struggled with that for some time; I love what I learn, but is it really something that will help me further the kingdom and prepare for the eternities.I was getting a little frustrated until one day I simplified everything I’ve learned in PR to one key aspect of what I do: I represent.

Essentially, as a public relations professional, I voluntarily choose to take on a company/person/organization/etc and I communicate their message; I become their advocate to the rest of the world.As a representative for an entity I realize that when people see me, they judge whoever I represent by my behavior, speech, and even my appearance.I commit to do or say nothing that would negatively reflect on my client.Any true professional knows and lives by this rule.As a public relations professional I never advocate for anything that goes against my morals or values, I truly believe in whatever I represent.

As I was thinking about being in public relations, I realized that many of the commitments and goals of public relations are commitments that I made when I was eight years old.When I was baptized I took upon the name of Christ, and I agreed to represent Him and be an advocate for Him and His cause.This means that because I choose to be a representative of Christ, everything I do can potentially negatively impact others view of Him.

I committed to always make sure that my appearance reflects the values of the Savior by following the standards he has set exactly.That means I should never try to stretch the rules of modesty or appropriate attire. Additionally, my language should always imitate the Savior’s, and this includes more than just avoiding a list of expletives.My language should always be appropriate in every way; it should be uplifting, not degrading; kind, not cruel; and understanding, not judgmental.Furthermore, my behavior should always be such that if someone seeks to know the Savior love, they can find it in me.

The skills I learn in public relations can help me in many things.I learn to communicate better, I learn to advocate for causes that I believe in, and I learn to become a better representative of Christ.

Challenge: Become a better representative of Christ.You took upon his name, and you know what it means.Strive to eliminate anything in your life that impedes your capacity to be an effective representative of our Savior.Clean up your language, fix your clothes, hair, and appearance in general, behave in a way that shows not only how much you love Christ, but how much He loves everyone as well.